Mirakel van de heilige Dominicus bij de Albigenzen 1611

Theodoor Galle made this small print on a copper plate, sometime between 1571 and 1633. Notice how the fine, incised lines create a sense of depth and detail. The story goes that Saint Dominicus challenged the Albigensians by throwing their writings into a fire; his own book miraculously survived. Printmaking was essential to spreading information at this time, making it a powerful tool of political and religious expression. The precision and skill required for copperplate engraving meant that these prints were not inexpensive. Consider how the act of burning books—usually laboriously produced by hand—contrasts with the relative ease of printmaking, a technology that threatened old ways of thinking. The value lies not only in its aesthetic, but in its testimony to the power of reproduction in shaping cultural narratives. It reminds us that even images intended for propaganda have a material history worth examining.